I glanced at the time; it was a little past 2 p.m.

"The game maintenance will only last half an hour, let's check the forums first."

Wang Ming opened the game forum, and two pinned posts immediately caught his attention.

Both posts are about questioning one's conscience.

One post was titled "On the Reasonableness of Questioning the Mind."

Another group signed a petition to the authorities, demanding rectification and self-examination.

"What is 'Wenxin'?" Wang Ming clicked on the post to read it.

"No wonder there are so few players in the main city, it's all because of this 'Questioning the Heart' quest."

It turns out that "Questioning the Heart" is the name of a quest issued by the village chief of the beginner village.

Players must reach the Innate Realm to enter the main city.

To reach the Innate Realm, one must use a Breakthrough Pill, and the reward for this Heart-Questioning quest is a Breakthrough Pill (Innate Realm).

Therefore, players in the Metaverse must complete this task after reaching level 10.

But that's where the problem lies.

This task of self-examination is just too difficult!

After accepting the quest, players will enter another space to challenge an opponent who is exactly the same as themselves - the Mirror Monster.

This mirror image monster has the same level and skills as the player, and can also equip gear.

But it's one thing for you to be wearing equipment, but the Mirror Monster's equipment is a full set of level 10 3-star purple gear.

This is a complete set of 3-star purple gear! For players in the beginner village to collect such a set of equipment is harder than climbing to heaven. Isn't this just making things difficult for them?

So apart from some skilled players who force their way through with their skills and some paying players who spend a lot of money on equipment.

More than 95% of players cannot defeat this mirror monster.

This is why players, despite reaching level 10, are unable to enter the main city due to insufficient cultivation level.

As a result, the players were furious and began to condemn the "Questioning the Heart" quest on the forums.

They finally united and demanded that the authorities adjust the difficulty of the "Asking the Heart" task.

Believe it or not, perhaps because it was difficult to defy public opinion, or perhaps the official team itself felt that the task was too difficult, they actually listened to the players' suggestions.

The official version changed the Mirror Monster's equipment from a full set of 3-star purple gear to a full set of 2-star yellow gear.

Although players are still dissatisfied with this change, it is the biggest concession the official team has made. This change is what this temporary maintenance covers.

"No wonder the server was temporarily under maintenance. So that's why. Luckily, I obtained the Breakthrough Pill, otherwise I would have wasted a lot of time here."

"Um, that doesn't seem right either. I can't wear equipment. If I really have to fight this mirror monster, I don't know how the system will set it up."

After leaving the forum, Wang Ming logged back into the game.

"System message: The server is under maintenance. Please wait patiently for 5 minutes."

Five more minutes, let's wait.

Wang Ming closed his eyes to rest, and soon 5 minutes passed before he entered the game.

"System Announcement: Welcome to the Metaverse World. This server update has adjusted the difficulty of the quest 'Questioning the Heart.' To compensate for the excessive difficulty of 'Questioning the Heart,' which caused a delay in players' entry into the main city, the in-game currency to real-world currency exchange system is now open ahead of schedule. Players can check it out themselves."

"System Announcement: Welcome to the Metaverse World. This server update has adjusted the difficulty of the quest 'Questioning the Heart.' To compensate for the excessive difficulty of 'Questioning the Heart,' which caused a delay in players' entry into the main city, the in-game currency to real-world currency exchange system is now open ahead of schedule. Players can check it out themselves."

System Announcement: ...

"The recharge system has opened ahead of schedule." Wang Ming looked at the system announcement, found the currency exchange system, and then opened it to check.

Currency exchange system

Today's exchange rate (updated daily at 5:00 AM):

Game currency exchange: Huaxia Coin = 1 Gold Coin (Players can enter the amount of Gold Coins they want to buy. After the transaction is completed, the Gold Coins will automatically be added to the player's inventory. Minimum exchange amount: 1 Gold Coin)

Game currency buyback: 1 gold coin = 7000 Huaxia coins (Players can enter the amount of gold coins they want to sell. After the transaction is completed, the Huaxia coins will be automatically deposited into the player's bank card. Minimum buyback amount: 1 gold coin)

"This currency exchange system is quite interesting. Not only can you top up your account, but you can also redeem it, and the exchange rate is dynamic."

"But the difference between the recharge ratio and the recycling ratio is a bit too big, tsk tsk tsk, no wonder it's Black Domain!"

After shutting down the currency exchange system, Wang Ming opened his backpack and looked at the items he had unearthed from the treasure map.

Diagram for making the Philosopher's Stone

Introduction: This document provides the blueprints for crafting the Philosopher's Stone. Learning from it will allow you to master the techniques for creating the Philosopher's Stone.

...

"The Philosopher's Stone, what is that? Is it some kind of equipment? But it doesn't look like it." Wang Ming then looked at another crafting diagram.

Wolf Fang Dagger Crafting Diagram

Grade: Unacceptable

Level: 10

Star rating: 3 stars

Materials: 1 Tiger King's Tooth; 1 Refined Iron

Introduction: This document contains the blueprints for crafting a wolf-tooth dagger. Learning from it will allow you to master the crafting techniques for wolf-tooth daggers.

Required Refiner Level: Grade 1 or above

...

This item dropped by the Forest Wolf King when you kill it in the starting village.

At the time, Wang Ming couldn't find any refined iron, so he ignored it and even forgot about its existence.

"It is indeed different. Well, I'll learn it first and then see what happens. Detailed information should appear after I learn it."

Wang Ming then studied both crafting diagrams and then unlocked the secondary profession - Refiner.

Secondary Profession: Weapon Refiner

Rank: First Grade

Proficiency: 1000/1000 (Proficiency is full. You can go to the Refiner's Association in the main city to upgrade to a second-grade Refiner.)

Description: Can craft all kinds of weapons below the lowest grade.

I have mastered the art of weapon crafting.

Philosopher's Stone

Grade: Common

Materials: Refined Iron *1

Description: Can be carried around to increase equipment durability.

Required Refiner Level: Grade 2 or above

...

Wolf Fang Dagger

Location: Weapon

Type: Dagger

Grade: Unacceptable

Star rating: ★★★

Attack: +56

Strength: +9

Agility: +9

Attack Speed: +11%

Requirement Level: 10

Required Class: Ghost Dancer

Materials: 1 Tiger King's Tooth; 1 Refined Iron

Required Refiner Level: Grade 1 or above

...

"So these gold and stones are used to restore equipment durability."

Players' equipment will wear down during combat, and its durability will decrease as a result.

When the durability drops to 0, the equipment will lose its effect and the attribute values ​​will not take effect.

If you continue to use it at this point, there is a chance that it will be damaged directly.

To restore the durability of your equipment, you can only go to the weapon shop, armor shop, jewelry shop, or blacksmith shop for repairs.

However, these shops are all located in safe areas such as the main city and the newbie village.

Players have to travel back and forth, and repairing it is quite a troublesome task.

"The Philosopher's Stone can be carried around, saving a lot of trouble. It's a good thing, but what exactly is this refined iron?"

Wang Ming opened the world map and entered "refined iron" again, but the result was the same as in the starting village: it still couldn't be found.

"Refined iron, it has the character for iron in it, so it should be related to iron, right? Sigh, I'd better go back to the main city and ask the blacksmith shop owner."

"I was just about to go to the apothecary to see if they have any higher-level health restoration potions."

Wang Ming summoned a wild horse and headed towards Scarlet Moon City.